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News, commentary and humor about bicycling and other topics of the day

 

It's all up to us!

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the East-West Gateway Council of Government's open house on its bicycling and pedestrian plan in Collinsville, Ill. The plan is designed to help municipal and county governments in the St. Louis metropolitan area develop bicycle and pedestrian routes.

I had to opportunity to talk with the council's Brian Horton. Unlike a bicycling and pedestrian plan developed by the council in the 1990s, this plan does not recommend specific routes that governments should develop. Instead, the plan consists of results of a survey indicating there is a demand for bicycle and pedestrian routes and of resources governments can pursue if they choose to construct those routes.

The survey indicates 34 percent of respondents ride a bike at least once a week, with another 29 percent indicating they ride nearly every day. However, about 71 percent of respondents ride a bike once a week or less. About 80 percent of respondents said they rode a bike for exercise or recreation.

Heavy or speeding traffic, narrow roads and the lack of bicycle lanes or paved shoulders were significant factors in discouraging people from riding more often, the survey found.

About 80 percent of respondents say local governments should spend more money to make bicycling and walking safer. To that end, the plan contains a list of resources communities can use to help them building bicycle and pedestrian routes.

Brian says the plan is intended to help local governments determine the need for bicycling and pedestrian facilities. That's where you come in.

Cyclists and pedestrians need to let their elected officials know there is a demand for safe bicycle routes and safe walkways. We need to tell them about the council's survey indicating there is demand for safe bicycle and pedestrian routes. We need to let them know which routes would be useful for us. We need to let them know there are grants and other programs available to help them pay for those routes.

Without our input, elected officials are less likely to think about bicycling and pedestrian needs when designing streets and highways, and they're less likely to consider off-road bicycle and walking trails.

Roger 0 comments 7:03 PM

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Lance is going for No. 7!

Yes, it's true! Lance Armstrong will ride in the 2005 Tour de France and go for his seventh consecutive Tour victory. Several of the news feeds in the right column have more details, or you can read the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team's press release, which includes a schedule of events Armstrong is planning before the Tour.

I'm glad to see Lance include some of a couple of European classics. That has been a knock on him because he's so focused on the Tour de France.

By the way, I'm still having trouble adjusting to the fact he's riding for Discovery Channel rather than the U.S. Postal Service!

Roger 0 comments 1:04 PM

Monday, February 14, 2005

Input sought for bicycling and pedestrian plan

The East-West Gateway Council of Governments is striving to improve conditions for bicycles and pedestrians across the region through its Bicycle and Pedestrian Program.

As part of the program, East-West Gateway has developed the St. Louis Regional Bicycling and Walking Transportation Plan. East-West Gateway is having a series of open houses from Feb. 15 though March 1 throughout the St. Louis area to discuss the plan and other transportation proposals.

I must admit that I've only had time to take a quick skim of the plan before making this post, but it does cover the priorities that East-West Gateway plans to use before it submits recommendations for state and federal grants for bicycle and pedestrian routes and paths in the St. Louis region. It also contains a list of funding sources and a good list of governmental contacts.

To learn more about the plan, visit the East-West Gateway's Bikeways page. There you can find links to various parts of the plan. To get a schedule of the open houses, open this PDF file.

Roger 0 comments 9:30 AM

Monday, February 07, 2005

Upcoming bicycling events

Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society Meet 'n' Eat: The second of the three BABES winter Meet 'n' Eats will be Wednesday, Feb. 9, at Thip's Thai Cuisine, 1229 Lebanon Ave. in Belleville, Ill. For more information, visit the BABES Ride Calendar page.

St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation Bicycle Swap Meet: The Bike Fed will hold its fourth annual Bicycle Swap Meet and Classic Bike Show on Sunday, Feb. 13, at Deer Creek Shopping Center, 3200 Laclede Station Rd. in Maplewood, Mo. For more information, visit the Bike Fed's Swap Meet page.

Cyclocross documentary film: After visiting the Swap Meet, you can view the new cyclocross film "Pure Sweet Hell" at the new Moolah Theatre at 3821 Delmar Ave. in St. Louis. The film will be shown at 7 p.m. and admission is $5. To learn more about the film, you can visit the film's Web site.

Roger 0 comments 2:27 PM

Renting forehead space

As I wrote Jan. 26, John Bilgalke, owner of Beatnik's and editor of The News Rocket, was trying to sell a secret report on eBay on how to sell your forehead toadvertisers.

To no one's surprise -- including John's -- no one bid on the report.

I've also noticed that the trend is dying quickly. When I firstreported on John's secret report, an eBay search for forehead revealed308 items. Today, it only revealed 213. It was a dubious trend, at best.

On further review: The trend is not completely dead. Read Belleville News-Democrat columnist Wally Spiers' take on this H&R Block worker who is using her head to advertise H&R Block.

Roger 0 comments 2:04 PM

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

Would you buy this bicycle?

I saw the Fuji Shakalaka cruiser bicycle tonight in the Fairview Heights Touring Cyclist shop. I was bored, and so were the shop's employees, who were experiencing a slow day. Of course, most bicycle shops in the Midwest experience slow days in February.

The model in stock is pink, a perfect color for Jody Martin de Camilo, who just bought a Trek Madone SL 5.2 WSD with a Pink Lace frame. Then, when I saw the Fuji catalog and notice there's a yellow version of the Shakalaka, I decided it would be a perfect match for Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society ride leader Christine Warta. She has a yellow car. She has a yellow road bike. Surely, she would want a yellow cruising bike, wouldn't she?

Take a look at the funky graphics on this bike:

First there's the calming image of the palm trees and seagull. This creates the image that would be a perfect bike for the beaches of California or Florida. Get rid of the palm trees and include some images of fudge and you would have the perfect bike for Mackinac Island! Get a load of the lovely polka dots alongside the name of the bicycle. Nice touch!


But the piece de resistance is on the rear bumper. Note the martini glasses. I guess there must be champagne in those martini glasses because of what appears to be bubbles coming out of them. Funny, I always thought champagne was supposed to served in a flute!

Look carefully and you will see the upraised leg of a lovely, leggy woman. The woman is properly attired for a party with high-heeled shoes, polka-dotted stockings and a skirt or dress that shows a bit of thigh. I told the shop's manager, Dawn Weber, she needed an outfit like that Friday night for Touring Cyclist's 2005 Wine and Cheese Party at the Richmond Heights store. Dawn says she once had a pink skirt that she wore as part of a Halloween costume. I tried to tell her that she probably could find one like that at a Goodwill store, but she didn't seem too interested.

On the down side, somebody didn't do his or her homework on fonts when it came to designing the chain guard. The I and J in this particular font are very similar, making you wonder whether the make of this bike is Fujj or Fuji. As the design editor of the Belleville News-Democrat, I know a few things about font choice, kerning and tracking. To get an extreme example of why those matters are important, take a look at this page on the DT&G Typography site. (Warning: Some viewers may find this objectionable!)

All in all, I wouldn't buy this bike because I'm not into cruisers, but it may be good for those of you who are into that kind of bike.

Roger 0 comments 11:00 PM

Is support for local bicycle shops just BS?

I normally don't get too excited about discussions on online forums, but this particular one got on my nerves.

Bill H., a poster on the St. Louis Bicycle Federation's Topica discussion board (You must be a subscriber to read the forums.), brought up the topic: "Is support for LBS (local bicycle shops) just BS?" Here is his original post:

The chain on my commuter bike is totally stretched out from a winter of commuting and I'm skipping on all cogs, killing my knees. I found a new 9sp chain on nashbar for $12.99, $17 shipped. In hopes of supporting the LBS, I checked on a price and it was $30+tax, which I guess would be about $27+tax with the BikeFed discount. I bought the nashbar chain. Someone remind me why I'm supposed to pay twice as much for parts at theLBS?

After a few posts defending the local bicycle shops, Bill H. comes back with this reply:

Online catalogues support me personally every time they sell me stuff at the best prices, up to half the price of local shops on parts. Plus I get no grief from "too cool for school" LBS employees.As far as LBS support of local orgs like the BikeFed, that is all nice and good, but I don't see much benefit personally from it.... How much have you benefited personally from LBS support of local orgs tuned to your interests?

I don't reply often to discussion boards and forum, primarily because I have my own forum with this Web site, but I felt compelled to come to the defense of local bicycle shops. Here's my reply:

Without the support of local bicycle shops, we cannot put on the Tour de Stooges ride each year. Steve Parks and The Cyclery in Edwardsville has given us lots of great -- and free -- sag support for our ride over the years. And Dawn Weber, the manager of the Fairview Heights Touring Cyclist, has served at sag stops for us and helped get the word out about the ride to the metro-east cycling community.

And, of course, we are most grateful to the numerous St. Louis area bicycle shops who allow us to put up our posters and brochures in prominent locations so people can learn about the ride.

Without the support of local bicycle shops, groups like the Gateway Council of Hostelling International and Bicycle Fun Club would be unable to put on the quality events they're known for each year.

The very notion that support for LBS is just BS is BS!

No doubt, you can save money by shopping at Performance and Nashbar. I do so from time to time. But I also spend money at Touring Cyclist, Bicycle World in Belleville, the Bicycle Zone mobile repair service based in O'Fallon, The Cyclery and other St. Louis area bicycling shops because I know if they don't exist, the St. Louis cycling community would be much weaker than it is today.

Roger 1 comments 2:22 PM